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Home , Chinese opera, Dance in China, Faubion Bowers, Korean dance, Theatre of China

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AUTHOR Gordon, Beate; Gordon, Joseph _ TITLE An Introduction to the of , , , . INSTITUTION ASIA Society, New York, N.Y. PUB DATE 65 NOTE 13p.; Revised Edition.

EDRS PRICE MF -$0.65 HC -$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Asian History; *Asian Studies; ; *Cross Cultural Studies; Cultural Enrichment; *Dance; Dramatics; Fine Arts; Korean Culture; *Non Western Civilization; O.:iental ; Pamphlets; Religious Cultural Groups; Resource Materials; *Theater Arts IDENTIFIERS ; China; India; Japan; Korea a ABSTRACT The general aim of this booklet is to assist those who desire to increase their knowledge and appreciation of Asian cultures and, more specifically, to provide an additional dimension to the Asia Society's Dance Demonstration Program. Dance history, philosophical ideas of religion, accompanying rituals, the relationship of dance to music, and roles and styles of today are briefly described and traced for each of the countries of India, China, Korea, and Japan._The artistic interchan0 and transmission of dance-form from one culture to another in each country is emphasized. The last section compares Asian and Western dance, focussing on differences in attitudes and ..(SJM) COPY FILMED FROMBEST AVAILABLE FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY

0` U S DEPARTMENT OF NEAL Til, EDUCATION WELFARE NJ NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION a) THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO OUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM re\ THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN A TING IT POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DC NOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OFFICIAL tOTIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION: OR POLICY

-IJ AN INTRODUCTION -...... 0"" TO THE DANCE OF INDIA CHINA KOREA JAPAN s . BEATE AND JOSEPH CORDON

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THE ASIA SOCIETY NEW YORK PREFACE lance is found in every culture but is expressed in unique forms. With the hope of assisting those who are trying to increase their knowledge and appreciation of Asian cultures and peoples, the Asia Society is pleased to publish An Introduction to the Dance of India, China, Korea and Japan. This booklet has been written to provide an additional dimension to the Asia Society's "Asian Dance Demonstration Program." The program is directed by Beate Gordon and consists of five "performer packages" de- picting the dance of India, China, Korea and Japan. We are grateful to Faubion Bowers for reading the manuscript and for providing valuable suggestions. Appreciation is also extended to The Asia Foundation for its grant which helped in the preparation of the man- uscript. Above all, we are indebted to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gordon for their interest and scholarship in making possible this publication. Revised Edition 1965

Authoritative books in English on Asian dance are still few in number. Our authors relied mainly on magazine and monograph materials. In particular, they wish to acknowledge the assistance received from the following sources. (Books available in paperback are preceded by an asterisk; the paperback publisher is listed in parentheses.)

Ambrose, Kay CLASSICAL DANCE AND OF INDIA. Lon- don, England: Adam and Charles Black, Ltd., 1950

Banerji, P. DANCE OF INDIA. Allahabad, India: Kitabistan Bowers, Faubion IN THE EAST: A SURVEY OF ASIAN DANCE AND . (Originally published in 1956 by Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York; reprinted in paperback in 1960 by Grove Press, New York.) THE . New York, New York: Press, 1953

Cho, Won Kyung OF KOREA. 434 W. 120th Street. New York, New York

Ram, Gopal and INDIAN DANCING. London, England: Phoenix House, D. &mak Ltd.

Scott, A. C. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CHINESE THEATRE. New York, New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1959 Sugiyama, OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE JAPANESE DANCE. Tok- yo, Japan: Kokusai Bunke Shinko-Kai

BHARATA NATY4.M: CLASSICAL INDIAN DANCE. November 2, 1963 issue of The Asian Student, The Asi Foundation, San Francisco, California

KOREA'S DANCING, CLASSIC AND MODERN. Seoul, Korea: Volume 3, No. 2, February 1963 issue of Korea Journal

Marg Magazine, 34-38 Bark Street, Bombay, India KATHAKALI. Volume 11, No. 1, December 1957 KATHAK. Volume 12, No. 4, September 1959 BHARATA NATYAM. Volume 10, No. 4, September 1957 MANIPURI. Volunse 14, No. 4, September 1961 AN INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN DANCE by Ram Gopal, Volume 3, No. 2

FOR ADDITIONAL READING

Bowers, FaubionJAPANESE THEATRE. New York, New York: Hermit- age, 1952. (Hill and Wang)

Ernst, Erie THE THEATER. New York, New York: Ox- ford. 1956. (Grove Press)

Gargi, Balwant THEATRE IN INDIA. New York, New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1962

Keith, THE SANSKRIT DRAMA IN ITS ORIGIN, DEVELOP- Arthur Berriedale MENT, THEORY AND PRACTICE. Oxford, England: Clarendon, 1924

La Meri THE GESTURE LANGUAGE OF THE HINDU DANCE. (Originally publised in 1941 by Columbia University Press; reprinted in 1964 by Benjamin Blom, Inc., Bronx, New York.)

Scott, A. C. THE CLASSICAL . London, Eng- land: Allen and Unwin, 1957 THE KABUKI . New York, New York: Macmillan, 1955

Waley, Arthur THE NO PLAYS OF JAPAN. London, England: Allen and Unwin, 1921. (Grove Press) AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DANCE OF INDIA, CHINA, KOREA AND JAPAN

As in many other cultures, Asian dance is the refined and sophisticated by-product of religious ritual. Buddhism, which originated in India around 500 B.C.. spread to China, Korea and Japan over a period of a thousand years, carrying with it the dances which celebrated Buddhist religious fes- tival- Indian Buddhist monks, who originally came to China to spread the philosophical ideas of their religion, brought with them musical instruments and dance-forms as well. From China, in turn, this influence (having ac- quired Confucian ideas) was carried to Korea, around 372 A.i). At the same time, during the first six centuries A.D., Korean culture was itself a powerful influence on China and Japan, exporting its own dance-forms to these countries. Thus there was an artistic interchange among these Asian countries. The transmission of dance-forms from one culture to another introduced changes in them. The philosophies, the accompanying ritual, and the role and style prescribed for dance became a synthesis of foreign and native elements, both religious and artistic. In China, for example, be- came religion was less concerned with the supernatural than it was in India. the dance is less concerned with gods and legends and more with history, heroes, and man's ethical behavior. In ancient Asia, where drama was a part of religious observance, the dance was used to instruct as well as to entertain. It was accompanied by the spoken word and by song, and was used to illustrate and clarify the meaning of the words.

Dance in India According to legend, Brahma, a Hindu god, devised dance and drama as a pastime for celestial beings. He taught a sage named Bharata all he knew. For more than a thousand years, the dance system (sastra) which Bharata subsequently created was transmitted through the spoken word until, in the fourth century A.D., it was recorded in writing. The sys- tem gives in great detail descriptions not only of movements and facial expression-but costume and makeup as well. According to legend again, the fht great dancer was Siva who, with Brahma and Vishnu, forms the trinity worshipped by Hindus. Therefore much of Indian dance concerns itself with Siva and incidents in his life. Indian dance -has also borrowed many themes from two epic poems, The Ramayanaand TheMahabharata(written about 1,500 years ago). These two poems tell of the adventures of gods and mortuls, of supernatural ani- mals and men, and of good and evil actions. From the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, Muslim invasions of India stifled the development of Hindu artistic expression; the followers of Mu- hammad considered the depiction of God as blasphemy. Also during this time, Hindu religious concepts changed; a cult arose which believed that Vishnuincarnate as Krishna, the cow-herderwas the most powerful deity. A central theme of Hindu worship and literature became romantic love. In the dance, plots centered on stories concerning Krishna's flirtation with the milkmaids and particularly with Radha, his favorite. Today there are four main schools of Indian dance: Bharata Natyam and Kathakali (both south Indian). Kathak and Manipuri (north Indian). Bharata Natyam, with its center in Madras, originally was danced ey men but for the last several centuries, it has been performed by womenthe devadasis (temple dancers). In more recent years. it has been taken up again by men as well as women. Bharata Natyam is a dance which com- bines movements of the body, eyes, neck and hands with vigorous and rapid foot movements. The complex rhythms beaten by the feet are em- phasized by small bells attached to the ankles. Bharata Natyam (as in all schools of Indian dance) is based mainly on nine "emotions" (rasa): heroism, fear, love. humor, fury,pathos, won- der. disgust and tranquility. These emotions are shown by body, hand and finger movements, and by facial expression. Another important basis of Indian dance is "mood" (bhava)pleasure, delight, and so forth. To ex- press the "moods" and "emotions," a special gesture-language(mudras) also has been developed. These gestures can express ideas, objects, hnimals, gods. rivers. mountains and so on. All dances are based on various pre- scribed rhythms (tala). An important part of a Bharata Natyam is a series of songs (padams) which are always deeply religious.The dancer either sings the words in unison with the accompanist or forms them silently with her lips while using her hands in the gesture-language. Her facial expressions also help to interpret the meaning of the song. Kathakali, the dance-form of the west coast of south India, originally was performed by men only. Nowadays women dancethis style also, al- though it is still predominantly a male dance. Young boys often take the role of women. The makeup, which may take as much as four hours to apply for characters such as demons and monkeys, is extremely intricate and grotesque. The normal appearance of the dancer is completelydisguised. In contrast to the elaborate and unique makeup, the arequite uniform. They consist of long-sleeved jackets and huge billowing skirts, and large crowns and halos for the head. The dancing is accompanied by very loud drummin3. Kathakali dance is an energetic and bombastic art, with great emphasis on lively pantomime. Kathak, the third school of Indian dance, comes from north India. Because this part of India was conquered by the Muslims, theMoghuls had their court there and Islamic influences were greatest in this area.The Mus- lims tried to suppress religious-motivated dance-forms because they are opposed to the representation of God by man. Therefore Indian dancehad to change from a very religious to a moresecular expression. It also as- similated Muslim costumes and . The basis of Kathakdanc- ing is rhythm expressed by foot beat. The movements of the bodyand arms are limited, but there are very excitingwhirling turns. The tapping of the feet becomes faster and faster to the accompanimentof the drums. Fa-

2 cial expressions are more realistic than in Bharata Natyam and Kathakali. Either women or men perform Kathak. The fourth school of Indian dance is Manipuri, from northeast India. There are dances in this school which are vigorous and acrobatic (the tribal dances such as the one which depicts a betrothal in which the move- ments of butterflies, monkeys, etc., are imitated), and then there are some which are characterized by graceful turning and swaying movements. The Manipuris have created dance- called Ras Liles in which Krishna legends are performed. Itis common for a whole village to dance in prayer for protection of the gods. The for all Indian dance is quite simple. Originally dances were performed in temples, at the court, or out-of-doors with oil lamps provid- ing illumination; a roof held up by poles, or a curtain held bv two attend- ants (depending on the school of dance) is all that is required today.

Donee in China Buddhism arrived in China from India about two thousand years ago. A Chinese priest who made a tour of India in the seventh century brought back to China stories on which he based operas, one of which concerned the antics of a monkey-king, a character from the Indian Rama- yana. Although there are traces of Indian influence on China, the Chinese develorrid their own indigenous art formsthe most outstanding being Chinese . Unlike India's dance and drama, is much less concerned with religion and is more interested in human beings, actual events, national history and ethics. Dance is only a small part of the Chinese opera and does not have the importance Indian dance has in In- dian theater. The Chinese opera, asitis known today, originated between the eighth and tenth centuries, when one of the emperors established an in- stitute of dramatics which was called the "." To this day, Chinese actors are sometimes called "people of the Pear Garden." Originally, Chinese opera served as entertainment for the court and its nobles, but there were also public performances. The nobles patronized the artists and many princely palaces had their own troupes of performers. Chinese opera demands much of an actor. He must be able to sing in a falsetto voice, declaim, dance, and perform elaborate mimes as well as gymnastics, acrobatics, and juggling. The plots are of two kinds: military or civil. The former are heroic, with brave generals going to battle and wise emperors and loyal government officials struggling against the enemy. The civil plays relate stories of faithful wives, filial piety and other Con- fucian ideals, or they may present some simple but charming episode. "Picking up the Jade Bracelet," for exam*, depicts a flirtation between a coy maiden and a young nobleman. Almost all stories derive from his- torical events or from classical noys. When dance appears in Chi& e opera, it is almost incidental; when the emperor leaves for battle, the queen performs a sword dance in farewell. In the opera Yang Kuei Fei, this famous beauty of Chinese history dances

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drunkenly when she fears that the emperor no longer loves her. The Chinese opera stage is bare except for a multi-colored backdrop. The only props are chairs or a table, to be used for various purposes such as thrones, obstacles, and so on. Elaborate and colorful costumes, head- dresses and makeup compensate for the relatively bare stage. Before the eighteenth century, both men and women appeared on the stage. After that time, men took over female roles and women were barred from the stage for reasons of propriety. Since 1924, however, women have again appeared in the theater. Traditionally, the most famous opera com- panies have been in Peking. As to in China, there are several from various provinces a stick dance, a butterfly chase dance. a skipping dancebut apparently few have been preserved.

Dance in Korea Buddhism reached Korea in the fourth century .-...D. from China and brought with it religious dances performed during Buddhist rituals. These dances had no specific religious meaning but were used to attract atten- tion to the Buddhist ceremony. A typical dance of this type consists of a young monk carrying a drum stick in each hand and beating a drum. The dance movements consist primarily of waving the long sleeves of his gar- ment. In addition to Buddhist influence, Confucian philosophy spread to Korea in the twelfth and thirteenthceitturies. Confucian-inspired dance was rather simple, with little movement but with rather elaborate staging in the sense that as many as sixty-four dancers, carrying flutes, shields and axes, were used. Court dances performed for the entertainment of the ruler had both ancient Korean and Chinese origins. These dances were, as in India and China, performed as part of an entertainment including songs and poetic recitations. One of the most famous of court dances was composed by a king in the eighteenth century. It is called the Nightingale Dance (Chun- Aeng-Jon ). The dancer wears a yellow robe and a delicate trembling head- gear in the form of a crown. The dance is slow- and very graceful, with elegant movements of the arms and feet. "Choyong" dance which dates from before the tenth century uses five dancers, all clad in different colored costumesred, blue, yellow, white, and blacksymbolizing the east, the west. the south, the north, and the center of the universe. The dancers all wear similar masks and crowns. This dance consists_ of stately solo inter- ludes and duets, and ends with a whirling . In folk dance, the Korean peasant had a freedom of expression and creativity not found in the formal religious and court dances. The folk dance took in elements of the dances from the court and from Buddhist ritual and adapted them to its own needs. An example is the Monk's Dance (Soong Mu). A dancer wearing a monk's robe rises as if awakening from meditation. He then raises and towers his long sleeves as if his faith were shaken. He starts vigorously beating a drum. The music stops; the dancer

4 seems released and free. The primary impression one gets from Korean court and religious dance is a feelinj of elegance. The costumes are in the most tasteful color combinations and the dance movements are graceful and restrained. The staging is simplea painting of a temple may serve as a backdrop, or there may be some large lotus flowers on stage from which young girls emerge. In the Chinese-influenced dances, the performers may use props such as bamboo poles with little flags, but these are used in a restrained fashion. In contrast, folk dances are vigorous and display aspects of vir- tuosity. In the Farmers' Festival Dance, for example, a male dancer wears a hat from which long ribbons sprout and which he twirls around by mov- ing his head faster and faster in a circular motion. The Korean repertoire is not without humorous dances. The Old Man's Dance in which the protagonist, recalling his youth, has too much to drink and staggers about hilariously, is a great favorite but is not typical.

Dance in Japan Dance in Japan is over 1,500 years old and these traditional forms have been preserved intact. The oldest Japanese dance is Bugaku, a stately, slow court dance. It was imported from India through , and from China through Korea. It is only since World War II that the court dancers have been seen outside the Imperial Palace. Except for a few performances at shrines, Bugaku has been a dance-form preserved strictly for the enter- tainment of the royal court. It employs- very beautiful =Mimes, occasional masks and props, and an elaborate . In the fifteenth century, Noh drama was developed for the pleasure of the aristocracy. It is a very slow-moving theater form which includes dance at its climax. The dance is accompanied by recitation and chanting and by an orchestra made up of stringed and percussion instruments. Cer- tain gestures have symbolic meanings. Masks, as well as elaborate cos- tumes, are used by the actor-dancers. Noh are interspersed with Kyogen, usually short satirical plays which are quite realistic and which have comic or serious dance sequences depending upon the nature of the Kyogen. Some of these plays have an almost slapstick quality; for West- erners, it is probably the most understandable of Asian theater forms. The stage for Nob and Kyogen is a simple wooden platform with a wooden ramp leading to the stage from which the actor-dancers make their en- trances. A backdrop showing a single gnarled pine tree completes the stage setting. Kabuki, which is a synthesis of of drama, dance, music and , dates from the seventeenth century. In Kabuki, dance may be used as thP actor recites an event that has taken place and acts out the story. A typical Japanese story, for example, is related in the famous Kabuki drama, Musume Dojoji, in which a beautiful maiden in love with a priest changes into a snake in order to gain revenge for her unrequited love. Sometimes an actor may make an entrance or exit in dance; on occasion, he will ask his attendants to dance for him. Any pretext to include dance

S is used. The costumes of Kabuki are opulent, and makeup and stage scenery are elaborate. giving a very dramatic and colorful effect. Noh and Kabuki are danced and acted by men who perform both female and male roles. However, dance excerpts taken from the Kabuki or Noh theater are danced on the popular stage currently either by men or women. Geisha dances are perhaps the most famous of Japanese dance-forms. Besides their own classical dances which they perform in geisha houses for small priyate gatherings, geisha also perform on a grand scale in profes- sional theaters. For these occasions they borrow Kabuki dances. They per- form both women's and men's dances, the latter being mostly about war- riors- and the former having romantic love as the theme. The dance is stately and slow-moving, again in beautiful costume and makeup. Control is the single most important item in this as in all other forms of Japanese dance. Folk dance in Japan abounds. There are rice-planting dances, fisher- men's dances, lion dances, and temple dances such as the Bon Odori when the whole countryside joins in dancing in celebration of a religious holiday.

Asian and Western Dance Compared When looking at Asian dance, the Western viewer must bear in mind certain differences in attitude and performance as contrasted to Western dance. First, the Western dancer aspires to upward movement, "elevation," to become ethereal. Tht. epitome of this is, of course, in which the toe shoes help physically to get the dancer off the ground. This is in marked contrast to Asian dance which, while it does embrace jumps and acrobatics (especially in Chinese opera), is not "lifting." Foot movements are, rather, downward, earthbound. Unlike virtuoso Western leaps and jumps, most of Eastern dance is stately and slow-moving. There is a great deal of very deliberate posturing and highly formalistic mime. Most Asian dances depict historical tales or legends as such, or as part of some elabor- ate or opera. Just as the subjects of Asian dance are very much in the "representa- tional" school, so the expressions and gestures remain realistic and ex- pressionist even though they may be highly stylized. Individual parts of the bodyshoulders, eyes, eyebrows, neck, fingers and handsare used much more than in Western dance where the body is used more as a unit for expressing love, anger, and happiness. Properties, including fans, swords, cymbals, drums and scarves, are also used more in Asian dances :han in the West. Costumes, jewelry, headdress, wigs and makeup are much more elaborate. The costumes themselves are works of art, embroidered and sewn by generations of costume-makers. They cannot be so easily replaced as Western costumes, not only because of their elaborateness but also be- cause of their cost which reaches into thousands of dollars. The costumes, makeup and choreography are highly traditional. Dances have been pre- served intact for centuries and very little improvisation is permitted in the ritual and ceremonial dances. In Japan. China, India and Korea, certain

6 famous dance schools have continueduninterrupted and virtually un- changed for generationsto *each their pupils the dances handed down from father to son. A diligent pupil may be permitted to r 't .e of the school where he was trained so that he may contin -at__ad. The formality of this whole system encourages a paternalism .eacher-stu- dent relationshipone in which the teacher is especially esteemed, is al- ways consulted regarding the plans of the aspiring dancer, and is financially rewarded even after the young artist has left the school and is performing on his own. This relationship applies particularly in Japan. The teaching methods in Asia are also quite different from those found in the West. Here, one is taught techniques and patterns first before learning complete dances. In most oriental countries, techniques are not taught separately; entire dances are taught. The format of a particular dance may vary slightly from teacher to teacher, but within a given school the dance pattern will have beer. unchanged for generations. Therefore there is no such thing as free choreography. Traditional steps and patterns are to be mastered, not improved upon or adapted to one's own style or interpretation. Although Western influence in stlib Far East has had its effects on Mian dance line the nineteenth century, the results of that influence have not always been felicitous. The new choreography appearing, with some diffidence, in the various countries of Asia is based on a mixture of West- ern and Asian dance and tends to ,4c) a disservice to both sources. Un- commonly great artistry is needed tt..-.s.ke an aesthetic amalgamation of such diverse traditions and techn;ques. The union of Korean, Japanese, Chinese or Indian dance was, for obvious reasons, much more readily and satisfactorily achieved. Furthemore the impact of the West on Asia bas been so strong culturally that in r country such as Japan, for example, Western music, dance, and art have all but submerged the traditional arts. The Japanese art forms, ironically, were neglected until the when American interest in Japanese culture helped to rtnive them. It is only recently that Japan has produced dancers and musician,. who feel that they can draw upon their own heritage and create something con- temporary, based on this heritage and perhaps influenced by the West, but not imitative of Western culture. Japan is an outstanding example of an Asian country which was not a colony but was eager to adopt and modify art forms from the West. The Asia Society has developed a program of Asian dance perform- ances designed for elementary and high school students. These programs are intended to introduce young Americans to Asian culture and to stimu- late their interest by focusing on the similarities and differences which exist in the dances of Japan, China, Korea, and India. For instance, the use of the sword in China to depict attack and defense is similar toits use in Japan. In Korea, however, the sword is small and stylized and is used purely for its decorative effect and for the jangling noise it makes. The comparison of shoulder movements in Chinese, Indian, and shows the strong cultural relationship among these countries; in all three,

7 moving the shoulders up and down means happiness. The art of writing as depicted in dances of China, Japan, and Korea is almostidentical. Also in all these countries, male roles can be danced by females and female roles by men. Although the musical accompaniment is somewhat different in each country, some of the instruments are similar and there is a certain repetition and steady rhythm in all which casts a near-hypnotic spell. The careful observer will notice not only- similarities in the dances of Asian countries but similarities between those of Asian and European countries. The Chinese dancer does small side-steps almost identical to the bourree of Western ballet; the Kathak dancer performs fast foot movements similar to Spanish dance; the Manipuri tribal dance resembles an American Indian dance, and some of the Chinese pantomime (threading a needle. for example) could easily have been choreographed by a Western mime. While it is true everywhere that man is unique, it is also true at the same time that he is similar to his fellow humans.This generalization is certainly illustrated by any examination of dance in Asia and the West. Western viewers of Asian dance must keep in mind that the attitude of an Asian audience has certain basic differences from that of its Western counterpart. Westerners who view performances in an Asian country are almost invariably overcome by the tedium of a five or ten-hour presentation, farinexcessof anythingto be seenin New YorkorParis. They must, if they are to feel more at home with Eastern productions, keep in mind that to the Asian, the "theater" presents an occasion for socializing. He brings his small children, his lunch he drinks tea and goes in and out during a performance. In most cases, he knows the presentation so well that he is prepared to focus his attention on those portions particularly dear to him. Time, so carefully rationed in the West, is not an over-riding con- sideration in the very social atmosphere of oriental spectacle. Formality, so highly developed in Asia, is left behind by the Chinese or Japanese when he is being entertained, even while the performance itself is so formalized as to deserve the name of "ritual." This is in sharp contrast tothe approach of Western audiences, The theatergoer in London or New York is by no means casual. He comes at a prescribed time, sits quietly and attentively(one assumes) through a performance of much shorter duration than anything in Asia, and goes out only at a scheduled intermission. Formality hereis left to the audience. with the performers having far greater latitudein performing or planning their presentations. These differences in attitude present obvious difficulties in introduc- kg Asian art forms to the West. Clearly, Asian performance times must be reduced, programs carefully paced, and some scenery andlighting addedall without impairing the authenticity of the production. Although such attempts are already under way to make Asian style performances more palatable to Westerners, it will be necessary forthe latter to con- tribute toward that end by remembering to approach such works with a less formal, tempo-conscious air, and with a readiness to "relax and enjoy it."